MARTIN O'Neill today insisted that he did not want to sell Steven Davis and would have preferred the Northern Ireland midfielder to fight for his place at Villa.

MARTIN O'Neill today insisted that he did not want to sell Steven Davis and would have preferred the Northern Ireland midfielder to fight for his place at Villa.

Davis squares up to his old club at Villa Park on Saturday following his #4million summer move to Fulham with O'Neill making it clear he simply could not stand in Davis's way as he could not guarantee him first-team football.

Davis eventually forced O'Neill's hand with a transfer request but is likely to be given a hero's reception on Saturday. O'Neill said: "I would genuinely have preferred if Steven had stayed at the club, but that wasn't to be.

"And I can understand players and their reluctance to stay around and think they are just a part of the squad.

"My job here is to try and improve the team, to make Aston Villa successful if I can. In other words, if I don't then I know the consequences and someone else will have a bash at it.

"My general view is that I would have preferred some players to have stayed at the football club, and Steven Davis comes into that category. But if Steven Davis wanted to go and play in a position, which I know he is getting at Fulham, then I couldn't guarantee those things."

Davis wanted to play in the centre of midfield at Villa, and had enjoyed the role under David O'Leary in his first full season as a professional when he won the Player of the Year vote.

But O'Neill's acquisitions of Stiliyan Petrov and Nigel Reo-Coker, and his preference to play Gareth Barry in the middle, would have limited Davis' chances this term.

"I won't go into any 'ifs' or 'buts' but time will tell whether it was the right or wrong decision, like anything else," O'Neill said. "I will not please all of the people all of the time."